Nets look to win two straight at home

The Brooklyn Nets had their most successful month of the season in March, going 7-10 and kicked off April with a win over the Orlando Magic, 121-111. The Nets will play the Atlanta Hawks Sunday in the first back-to-back game set at Barclays Center since 2012.

Last Sunday, the Nets topped the Hawks in Atlanta,107-92, behind Brook Lopez’s 23 points. Last night against Orlando, the Nets had birthday magic (pun intended) on their side as Lopez turned 29 years old and Justin Hamilton turned 27. Lopez dropped 30 points while grabbing seven rebounds and Hamilton had a nice stat line with 13 points and five rebounds. The biggest contributor, however, was Trevor Booker who shot 11 of 12 for 23 points and had eight rebounds for extra possessions.

The Hawks are coming off a close to the hosting Chicago Bulls, 106-104. Point guard Dennis Schroder scored 29 points in the loss and Dwight Howard posted another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nets have stated that they have no intention on shutting down any of their starters and therefore will look to continue their strong end of the year with a win over the Hawks.

3 Things to Watch in Nets-Hawks

Trevor Booker

Despite being a solid contributor to the Nets starting lineup all season long, Booker has spent much of March coming off the bench with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson moving to the starting lineup and even had a few DNP’s. On Saturday against the Magic, Booker showed just how valuable of a high energy bench player he could be, diving for loose balls tipping and grabbing rebound for second-chance opportunities. Booker is always a valuable asset and can be poised for an encore performance.

Jeremy Lin

Unlike Booker, Lin struggled getting his shots to fall as he shot three of 14 with just eight points. In the last meeting against Atlanta, Lin scored 19 points and if he can play that well again the Nets can defeat the Hawks for the second time in a week.

Dwight Howard

Last Sunday Dwight Howard was his usual monster self and scored 19 points while grabbing 16 rebounds. It’s a tough matchup for Lopez who needs to try and limit him as much as he can.